Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Growing up in the Baptist church, music has always been an important part of my faith journey. Despite attending the modern service most Sundays, I always loved a good old fashioned hymn. I even stole a hymnal from my church in middle school and loved looking through the different songs and playing them on my piano at home. There just something about the harmonies echoing in the sanctuary that always put me at ease. Fast forward to college, we had a guest speaker in one of my vocal pedagogy classes who taught us some different styles of group singing. She introduced us to the traditional Appalachian version of ‘Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah’. I recognized the text right away. But when I heard this version of the melody, I was immediately inspired. I felt that this version of the melody really brought out the deep feelings and raw emotions of the text that I hadn’t noticed before. I immediately went back to my dorm after this class and began arranging. I hope feel as inspired by the text and melody as I was and bring your own interpretation to the meaning of longing for someone help you through tough times. **Note: There are minor differences between the final score and the performance by First Readings Project when they workshopped the piece back in 2015. The song was edited slightly when it was revisited for publication.**